1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reproduction apparatus and an image reproduction method with which a desired frame can be found from a moving image or a desired image can be found from a plurality of images.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a randomly accessible medium such as a hard disk and an optical disk has been widely used as a moving image recording medium, and there has been increase in the use of an image recording/reproducing apparatus with a moving image editing function. Accordingly, it becomes easy for a user to edit a moving image. In the moving image editing, division of the moving image and frame search for additional chapter settings are typically carried out.
For example, in finding a target frame from a moving image including frames by search on a moving image reproduction apparatus, a user is required to carry out a fast, normal, and/or slow playback operation of the moving image so as to temporarily stop the moving image around the target frame, and then repeat forward and reverse frame playback of the moving image. With this method, if the moving image is stopped without accuracy with respect to the target frame, forward and reverse frame playback must be repeated several tens times to find the target frame, and thus a considerable time is taken. To obviate this, there is proposed a method for assisting the target frame search by analyzing luminance, sound volume, color tone, etc. in each frame and then automatically detecting a part where there is a large change in luminance, etc. (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2-184181).
Another method has been proposed in which a plurality of frames around the target frame are scaled down and arranged in time series, and a resultant film image is displayed for selection of the target frame (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-51734).
However, the method for analyzing luminance, etc. in each frame and detecting a part where there is a large change in luminance, etc. to assist the target frame search requires a complicated algorithm for analyzing luminance, etc. in respective frames. In addition, an edit point cannot be detected if a change in luminance, etc. is small at a boundary between scenes, whereas a part of the image other than the scene boundary is detected if a large change occurs therein, as opposed to user's intention.
On the other hand, the method for displaying a film image for target frame selection requires processing to generate the film image and a screen region for displaying the same. In addition, there is a limit in a display range of the film image, and therefore, if the target frame is not within the display range, the display range must be moved or a new film image must be generated, resulting in a fear that the target frame cannot rapidly be identified.